VampireS Sumo

You only have to enter a couple of related poker words into Google to find a whole plethora of poker sites, with over 250 or so, offering various promotions, products and marketing strategies to tempt you into joining their games and becoming part of their poker community.

But if you are just about to set out, new to the game of online poker, what will you look for when you shop around for one of the many poker product sites available?

Well, of course the first thing you are attracted to is the label or brand name offering the product. Just like you may shop at your local store for common household goods, you may employ the same methods when shopping for an online gaming product, like poker. The brand name is what identifies the product. You may have seen the brand name being advertised somewhere, so if you are familiar with it, you are more likely to trust it.

Some of the more popular brand names like William Hill and Ladbrooks are familiar to us primarily for sports betting. But with sites like these now having a casino and poker gaming channel, they are beginning to establish themselves as trustworthy players in the online gaming world. With big sites like Party Poker and 888 also throwing a lot of money behind marketing campaigns and tournaments, it is easy to see how fast they have established themselves as forerunners in online casino and poker.

But just as we all like to purchase the more popular brand names, it is those great bargains that we like to shop around for. Spotting a great offer and walking away with a great product at a lower price fills us all with delight. And so just by digging a little deeper into Google or Yahoo, you will be able to find more variety of poker products, with more bonus offers and various tournaments available.

Shopping for online poker will begin just like normal, with a spot of window shopping. Enter a few words such as poker games, poker online or UK poker into Google and boom… lots of “shops” and products to choose from. However, just browsing a few pages deeper than the usual 2, 3 or 4, will result in far more sites than the usual big brand names. Sites like VIP Poker Club and Virgin Poker are also becoming more household names and beginning to establish themselves as places to play in a safe and secure environment. You may see sites like these popping up amongst results as they become ever more popular.

Once you have opened up a poker site to take a further look into the product, you are first attracted to the graphic/colour scheme and layout of the site. If these are not simple to understand, or pleasing to the eye (just like the labels on a product in the store), you are likely to be turned away. But don’t stop there. Why not try the product out before you buy it? Sites like VIP Poker offer an interactive poker school and also allow you to preview games before you start playing. This is a good way to search for a product and test it out.

One good way to shop is by going to a chain store. There you will find many brands under one roof. From the more popular established brands to newly available brands and niche products. Just like shopping at a chain store for electrical goods, you can shop at an online poker network for a variety of poker brands. Sites like IPNPoker provide a multitude of brands to suit your taste and needs. Whether you want to feel like a VIP club member or want to be part of a more fun-based brand, there is always a site and tournament available to suite your taste and level of play.

Playing as part of a network has its benefits over the single site products such as Party Poker or 888. While the numbers of players online are likely to be similar, the range of player (and language of player) is likely to be broader and more varied, and with a network, there will always be a tournament available for beginners and professionals alike. No more waiting around for a tournament to begin (“like waiting in queues to pay for your chosen product”).

St Minver, who operate the IPN Poker network, said its networks are now hosting 30,000 cash players a day, with up to 7,500 concurrent players on its sites at peak times. This is likely to be fuelled by the introduction of a number of high-profile household brands and launches into Sweden, Spain and Russia.

The International Poker Network site shows revenue growth of 20% in 2006. The number of poker players on IPNPoker increased by 27% in 2006. This shows that playing as part of a network is proving ever popular. Being able to meet players of different languages from all over Europe, test the product out before your buy and shop around for the great bargains all under one roof is a good reason to become part of an online poker network.

Written by Morgan Collins for the IPN IPNPoker.com Poker Network. Operate by St Minver Ltd. This article may be reproduced in full with author’s name and links retained.

Resolution is a term used a lot in photography these days - regardless which type of photography you do, or which type of camera you use, understanding image resolution, pixels and the different properties attributed to them is so important.

Whether you are printing, scanning or sending an image by e-mail, you need to understand and know how to keep your images sharp and preserve as much detail as possible in your final print.

This topic does cause some confusion, so I hope the following will help.

Image resolution explained: Photography resolution is a measurement of image quality, so you may define resolution by how much detail is in your print. If your print has sharp detail you may consider your image to be of good resolution. If detail is blur in your image you may consider your image to have poor resolution. Good resolution is a direct result of having a large number of pixels in an image.

Pixels explained: Digital images are made up of millions of small dots - each dot is called a pixel. Each dot contains a small piece of image information, and when added together with the other pixels you’ll get your final image.

Print resolution is measured in pixel per inch (ppi) or in dots per inch (dpi) - both hold the same value. 300ppi means that there are 300 pixels per inch or 90,000 pixels per a square inch.

What size can I print my images?

A digital image that’s 1500ppi wide will print a 15-inch wide print if the print resolution is 100ppi.
If you change the same image to a print resolution to 300ppi your final print size will become a
5-inch wide print.

If your image file is 3000ppi wide x 2400ppi high with a print resolution 300ppi, your final print size will be 10 x 8 inch. The same file with a print resolution of 150ppi will give you a final print of 20 x 16 inch.

Divide the print resolution into the pixel width or height of your image.

Higher resolution should not be taken to mean that your images would be of higher quality - your images would only be of high quality if you print to the correct format.
Example - if you print a 3000ppi x 2400ppi size file to a print size of 20 x 16 inch at 300ppi, the pixels may be visible resulting in a blur image. You need to print it at 600ppi to attain good quality.

What size resolution should I use?

At 600ppi (which is an extremely large resolution) your image will be supreme sharp. You will be restricted with print size.

Printing your images at 300ppi is the standard quality. Image sharpness doesn’t get much better. The only setback is that the maximum print size will be restricted - you might need to drop the resolution to get a larger image.

If you need a large print from a small file print your file at 150ppi - your print will lack detail and the pixels may be visible. You should not print an image any smaller than 150ppi.

72ppi is standard with your computer screen. Don’t print your images at this size - the pixels will be visible.

Resolution tips: Scan your images as large as possible it’s easy to resize them later. If you scan an image to small you may have to re-scan at a later date to get a larger print.

If you need a print that’s twice the size of the original - scan it at 600ppi and print it at 300ppi.

Try to print your image at 300ppi.

If you use a tripod when taking an image you may be able to push the print resolution lower than the recommended 300ppi - this will enable you to get a larger print.

Other Tips: Be very careful when cropping an image, if you crop it too much you will reduce the print size.

Be careful not to confuse print resolution with printer resolution; printer resolution is measured in dots per inch (dpi), but these values are a great deal higher- common printer resolutions are 2400dpi and 5760dpi - this is a measure of the amount of ink dropped onto your paper per inch.

TJ Tierney. Award winning Irish Landscape Photographer. If you are looking for more tips visit: goldenirishlight.com/photographytips.html goldenirishlight.com/photographytips.html Photo tips. To view some of his images visit his on-line gallery: goldenirishlight.com goldenirishlight.com Pictures of Ireland

While the Bride’s portrait is usually bathed in soft light, or has an almost mystical quality about it, the classic shot of the groom is one that’s more defined and has a somewhat darker tone. The photograph certainly shouldn’t be hard or moody and it should be a reflection of the man’s character. Too many photographs of the groom are heads and shoulders, with a broad smile or caricatured, serious look that more often than not resembles a grimace. Aim for a natural look and be aware of the small detail that go into the making of any formal portrait.

Because the groom′s clothes are much ‘straighter’ than the bride′s and can’t be fluffed out to create paths of design and light, you’ll have to be much more conscious of how the lines of the jacket, vest, or waistband fall. Watch for the jacket riding up over the shirt collar and make sure the cuffs of the shirt come out from the sleeves of the coat. Even though facial expression in the shot might be great, a portrait can be badly hurt by your missing any of these seemingly inconsequential details.

It’s rare to see or sell a full-length formal of the groom, so concentrate on medium distance shots. Using a lighting set-up similar to the one for the bridal portrait you can have the groom lean in slightly, one foot on a stool and an arm resting on the knee, with the other hand in a pocket. Remember to watch for lines by making sure that the groom’s shoulders aren’t parallel to the top of the frame and have the head turned to one side or the other so the shot doesn’t look like a wanted poster.

It’s ok for the groom to have one or both hands in his pockets as long as the hands fit. Some formal wear is very tight or just has decorative pockets, so hands may seem bulky if shoe horned in. If the hands are left out of the pockets, do something with them. Putting hand in hand is better than interlacing fingers. You can also have a thumb hitched into a pocket or belt, creating a jauntier pose.

Many men’s portraits seem stilted when compared to those of women. This may be caused by the photographer and subject feeling as if they are trapped into portraying the ‘male image.’ Go with your feeling about the individual and don’t get caught out in stereotypes. This will make your subject more comfortable and allow you to make a more honest photograph. Look for motion, movement of lines and dynamism as ways to break any stiff, visual looks. Once the subject has posed himself, or you’ve helped him find a comfortable position, request an extra lean-in towards the camera. This extension does wonders for male portraits.

Use your judgment about diffusers with the groom because some benefit by its use and some don’t. Though these filters aren’t in general used for pictures of the groom alone, they can help create an idealized rendition of the subject. Smiling is not against the law in the portrait of the bride or groom. The demeanor of the groom’s portrait needn’t be serious or moody. His warmth and flow are what you should aim to bring out.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to photography-guides.com/ Photography

A picture is worth 1000 words. If you’re a photographer, you need photography leads to get clients to be able to take pictures. This is a step-by-step guide to generating photography sales leads on the internet to get more clients. It actually is quite easy. Just follow this program:

If you don’t already have a website for your photography business, you need to start by creating one. These days you can hire a website designer to create a professional looking site for under $100. Be sure to include a portfolio of your photography work as well as contact info - phone, email, address - so that prospects could contact you.
Choose a set of keywords that you believe people seeking your services are using to search online. See below for a few examples of good photography keywords.
Take these keywords and purchase them on search engine pay-per-click (PPC) programs. The most popular PPC program is Google’s AdWords program. A link to your website will appear as “sponsored results” on internet searches whenever someone searches the keywords that you purchase. You pay anytime someone clicks on your link. However, it costs just pennies per click and it is worth it for the amount of photography leads that it can generate.

It really is that easy. The main thing is to choose the proper keywords. Below is a sample of just a few good photography keywords that you can purchase:

New York cityscape photography
Chicago commercial photographer
Seattle portrait photography
Las Vegas nude photographer
Toronto Studio photography
Miami fashion photographer
Vancouver landscape photography
Niagara Falls wedding photographer
Boston model photography
Dallas baby photography
Los Angeles glamour photographer
Philadelphia erotic photography

Do you notice how each of these keywords are preceded by a city? This was done on purpose because many people that are searching for photographers on the internet are doing local searches. Just substitute any of these cities with the city that you live in.

Alternatively, visit trade-pals.com trade-pals.com to receive free sales leads. Tino Buntic created TradePals to provide B2C and B2B trade-pals.com sales leads, including photography leads, to business professionals without cold calling.

No limit hold’em is a tough game for the newcomer. The ability to bet any amount at any time creates incredible strategic depth and complexity which simply cannot be mastered in a short time. Fortunately, even for a total beginner, a simple tight and patient strategy should be enough to beat most no limit hold’em games.

The first tip involves the buy-in when you sit down to the table. As a beginner you would be best served to buy-in for the minimum allowed amount, usually between ten and forty times the big blind (BB). Buying in for the minimum allows you to get more of your stack in before the flop or on the flop, where you can have the biggest advantage by simply playing tightly.

Preflop you should be looking to play the biggest hands, usually ace king, ace queen, and pocket pairs. With ace king, ace queen, and a pair of tens or higher before the flop, raise to four times the big blind if no one has raised before you. If it has been raised before it is your turn, push all-in with those hands instead as long as your stack is thirty big blinds or less. If your stack is thirty big blinds or more fold two tens and ace queen. Finally if you can play your hand for the minimum bet preflop you can also call with twos through nines.

On the flop evaluate your hand. If you have top pair, an overpair (pair in your hand is higher than the top card), or a set (pair in your hand matches a card on the board), bet the size of the pot and raise the size of the pot agianst all bets until you are all in. If you have second pair or an overpair to the second highest card, bet all in if your stack is less than twice the pot, otherwise check and fold. Finally if at any point it is your turn to act and you have less than 125% of the pot size remaining, bet all-in regardless of whether you connected with the flop or not.

This is a very simplistic strategy designed only for beginners to no limit hold’em, but it should work well as long as you stick to the hand suggested and don’t let your stack size get too large compared to the blinds. If you double up such that your stack is fifty times the big blind or more you you may want to consider leaving the table for another game. Good luck and win big at the tables.

Brian Stubiak is an experimental physicist and longtime winner at online poker. Having beaten the games for over five years, Brian now hopes to give something back to the game by sharing some of his winning poker strategies.

Brian’s Poker Strategy Guides:

donkeydevastation.com/short-stack-poker-strategy/ Short Stack Poker Strategy

donkeydevastation.com/sit-and-go-strategy-guide/ Sit and Go Strategy

donkeydevastation.com/ Poker Strategy Blog

Kelly Price has released her most recent CD entitled This Is Who I Am.

It’s a rare day indeed that I get a CD from an artist that I can truthfully say does not have a bad track in the bunch. I’m more than happy to announce that’s exactly what I must say about this one. There simply is NOT a bad one in the bunch. No fillers here at all.

This Is Who I Am is a nicely varied, mix of 11 tracks that are very well written songs by this clearly superb artist. Most of the songs display a lot of the kind emotion that makes for a really great listen. Seemingly drawing from what I can only imagine are her own personal experiences. At different points touching on the most real emotions like love, heartbreak, pain, failed relationships and unattainable romance. They’re all here.

I’m of the opinion that This Is Who I Am is certainly Kelly Price’s best work in a few years. A totally enjoyable CD and an outstanding release. What I call must have music. I give it two thumbs up because it’s a collection that even the casual Gospel fan can appreciate and enjoy.

While the entire CD is outstanding the truly standout tunes are track 1 - This Is Who I Am, track 3 - The Warning, and track 9 - I Can′t Turn Back.

My SmoothLee Bonus Pick, and the one that got Sore [...as in "Stuck On REpeat"] is track 6 - Just As I Am. What a nice track!

This Is Who I Am Release Notes:

Kelly Price originally released This Is Who I Am on Oct 24, 2006 on the Gospocentric Records label.

CD Track List Follows:

1. This Is Who I Am
2. Heaven’s Best
3. The Warning
4. God Is Faithful - (with Donnie McClurkin)
5. God Is Not Dead
6. Just As I Am
7. What A Friend - (with Richard Smallwood)
8. Get Up And Praise
9. I Can’t Turn Back
10. Healing
11. Nobody But Jesus - (with Vanessa Bell Armstrong)

Personnel: Kelly Price (vocals); Donnie McClurkin, Joe Ligon, Richard Smallwood, Vanessa Bell Armstrong (vocals). Recording information: 2006.

Clyde Lee Dennis a life long music enthusiast, writes CD reviews and is also the Travel Editor at Atlanta.eNewsBriefs.com covering topics like atlantasmoothjazz.com/local-business/hotels.htm Atlanta Hotels and more. Visit atlantasmoothjazz.com/news/ Atlanta eNewsBriefs for the latest atlantasmoothjazz.com/news/ Atlanta News

Most hypocritical nation

It’s all about intimidation

Fear masquerading

As total toughness

Military humanism

Displayed merciless

Selling and exporting

Democracy internationally

Correction, that’s our version

Ideologically and economically

Anything else is on the contrary

And demonized wholeheartedly

It’s American interests all the way

All other nations have no say

We′ve got the might and money

The TV and movies oh so funny

The mass media to mesmerize

With propaganda to terrorize

Make your knees weak

And put tears in your eyes.

Though we’ve got problems

Countless problems at home

It seems better for us to roam

Throughout the world looking

Looking where we can do good

Peddle doing right in the name of God

While sending the imperialistic squad

To profit behind the scenes

While our troops push our means

Our fight for freedom and liberty

Whatever that does or does not mean

We soon eventually shall see

Meanwhile allies go along foolishly

Not questioning our intel specifically

Believing whatever we say naively

Refusing to dive deeper investigatively

Making selling war for America easy

Blood is all over our greedy hands

From the White House to other lands

When will our citizens arise and take a stand

Say no more export of bloodshed

From the beloved and brave homeland?

Beyond being brave, let us also save

Our own men here at home

Before we needlessly send them forth

To fight an unnecessary and unjust war

That our leaders advocated for more

To simply self-actualize and open a door

For future Iraqi oil pipelines and score

For themselves and their constituents

At the helm of corporation nation

Additional power and profit maximization

Hence our hypocrisy precedes democratization.

Paul Davis is a life coach (relational & professional), traveling minister and fitness trainer. Paul is the author of several books including Breakthrough for a Broken Heart; and God vs. Religion. Paul is a popular worldwide keynote speaker, creative consultant, humor being, adventurer, explorer, mediator, minister, liberator and dream-maker.

Paul’s compassion for people & passion to travel has taken him to over 50 countries of the world where he has had a tremendous impact. Paul has served in many war-torn, impoverished and tsunami stricken regions of the earth. His nonprofit organization Dream-Maker Ministries is building dreams, breaking limitations and reviving nations.

Paul′s Breakthrough Seminars inspire, revive, awaken, impregnate with purpose, impart the fire of desire, catapult people into a new level of self-awareness, facilitate destiny discovery and dream fulfillment.

Contact Paul to minister, speak at your event or for life coaching: mailto:RevivingNations@yahoo.com RevivingNations@yahoo.com, 407-967-7553.

The probability of being dealt any two suited Hold’em cards is a whopping 23.5% , and each player is likely to get many suited hands every session. A strategy that properly takes into account when being suited positively changes your hand expectation is needed, as new or weak players that choose to play all of those hands will often find their starting requirements are too loose to profit in a game when facing selective aggressive opponents.

When most players think of suited cards, small and middle suited connector hands like 8s,9s often come to mind first. It is totally correct that being suited adds a lot of positive expectation to a hand like 8,9 but more so in un-raised pots with many players rather than short-handed. These type of hands are meant to make straights and flushes which are usually needed at the end of any loose multi-way action, and being suited gives you an extra way to win.

Aside from connectors, many players find it wise to use a general suited guideline when holding big hands when facing raises from players ahead of them. An example of this is a player holding Ad,Jd when in late position and facing a raise from early position. Many will choose to call or re-raise with this hand, but would fold if their two cards were not suited (i.e. Ac,Js). Hands dealt in the blinds are also often played with the same strategy; for example players will call a raise in the blinds with a hand like Ah,6h while folding with a similar As,6c.

While it’s true that junk hands like 9s,3s, can occasionally hit a flush and win a pot, it’s far more likely that it will be tossed away on the flop, or trap the player for even more bets in a weak draw or with a small pair. Worse yet, the player will make their flush only to lose a ton of chips to another opponent with a bigger flush. Although you may witness others at your table limping in with anything and everything suited, trash hands like these should routinely be tosses away in most circumstances.

Shawn has been playing online poker since it’s inception in 1999, all of his

The daily movement of the planets reveal the celestial weather of coming events.

Your zodiac chart is a map of who you. When you took your first
breath, the planets activated the energies of that map. A skilled astrologer can tell you with a great deal of occuracy what is happening to your inner psyche. To you. To your own Zodiac Zone.

How can this be?

All of us are composed of psychological patterns. That is, we are conditioned to react to life in our own unique way. We react according to the celestial patterns that were created in our Zodiac Zone. Because they spend most of their lives investigating these patterns, professional astrologers can explain them in a way that will make sense to you.

All of the planets in the heavens are moving through the energy field of our psyche, which I have called the “Zodiac Zone.” By studying the movement of these planets, a master astrologer can tell you what psychological patterns are or will be activated within you. Sometimes, he can even tell you what day these patterns will be activated and even describe some of the events associated with them.

Years ago, I had a client who had a tendency to violence. I determined this by recognizing a pattern of rage within his Zodiac Zone. I saw that the planet Uranus was presently entering this part of his Zodiac Zone and that on a certain day he would really be upset and have a tendency to violence. I told him that he would need to be calm and not let matters get out of hand. I told him that this seemed to relate to his wife in some way. He said, “That’s not possible. We are very close.” But, when the appointed time arrived, he discovered that his wife was having an affair. He blew up and walked out in search of the retreating lover.

This kind of psycholgical pattern can be seen instantly by a skilled zodiac master.

Let’s look at George Bush’s Zodiac Zone.

He was born with Mercury next to Pluto. Mercury represents the mind and Pluto is a coercive and powerful energy that knows no compromise. Throughout the centuries, astrologers have discovered that this pattern shows an arrogant mind that believes it is always right. Also, Pluto is next to his Venus in Leo which shows he is quite demanding in relationships and expects others to adapt to his needs. Venus also reveals what we love. The many stories that are emerging from the White House confirm these observations. Since his rising sign is Leo, there is a strong indication of self-love (Although this is not really true when we look at the rest of his chart.).

Bush’s Venus is at 21 degrees and 30 minutes of Leo. If an astrologer looks to see what is going on in George’s life, he will quickly sees that the transiting planet, Saturn, is at 21 degrees and 30 minutes on the morning of October 2, 2006, and will make a conjunction with his Venus at that time. A visit of Saturn to one’s Venus is not a happy experience. It is the nature of transiting Saturn to deny love and lead the individual to feel he is not supported by others. This could be a rude awakening for “our leader.”

These statements are being made in May of 2006. Time will tell us if this prediction is correct, but according to the heavens, it indicates a celestial fall from grace. If this turns out to be true, then surely we can predict with some degree of accuracy by reading the Zodiac Zone. This also suggests that more people should turn to the heavens for the deeper answers to their lives.

It has been said that “All things are already finished, but their events happen in time.” One of the great benefits of reading the Zodiac Zone is to see what events may likely occur within our own time.

© 2006 Randall Curtis

Randall Curtis is a professional astrologer with world-wide
clients. Click on

The Florida manatee has fooled us all for ages. We thought it was as slow to cogitate as its “sweet potato” body is to move. Never did the clever “sea cow” let on that it’s actually as brainy as, or perhaps even brainier than, a somersaulting dolphin. But now its lethargic disguise has been penetrated, thanks to the researches of a neuroscientist at the University of Florida.

Roger L. Reep, who, along with a small group of other researchers, has discovered that trichechus manatus latirostris is not the slow learner it has forever pretended to be. In fact, while manatees are definitely slower moving than dolphins, they’re just as quick at learning tasks. Only they’re harder to motivate, because they won’t leap for fish.

They’re herbivores and, apparently, they don’t even speed up when a researcher waves a seaweed temptingly in their direction.

The researchers concluded, however, that under that hulking exterior coasts a subtle mammal that is perfectly adapted to its environment.

The clever paddlers have the lowest brain-to-body size ratio of any mammal and the surface of their brains is smooth. But Reep believes, instead of a brain that’s too small for its body, the tricky sea creature may have a body that’s big for its brain. Why? To help it stay warm and have enough of a digestive system to nourish itself on the low-protein and low-cal sea greenery it grazes on for its survival.

Reep also thinks that the thickness of manatee’s cerebrum, which contains multi-layers, may account for how the tricky mammal can disguise its brain power under a smooth exterior.

And Dr. Reep and his colleagues have discovered that manatees may be able to hear low-frequency sounds, with vibrations as low as 23 to 1,000 hertz. That ability would be unique among mammals and it may explain how the lumbering giants can navigate back to their favorite patches of seaweed every year, along with how they manage to keep track fellow manatees even in cloudy water.

Reflecting on their intelligence in comparison to dolphins, one of the researchers even dared to say, “They’re too smart to jump through hoops the way those dumb dolphins do.”

Tom Attea, humorist and creator of NewsLaugh.com, has had six shows produced Off-Broadway. Critics have called his writing “delightfully funny,” “witty,” with “great humor and ebullience” and “good, genuine laughs.”